The most iconic London Fashion Week moments ever? From Naomi Campbell falling to a model getting spattered with paint
Lisa Marie Rae, Director of Entertainment EMEA at Getty Images, has shared her most memorable photographs from the past 30 years with The Sun Online
NAOMI Campbell in fits of giggles after stacking it on the catwalk, an Alexander McQueen model getting splattered with paint and a surprise Prince gig… these are just some of the most iconic London Fashion Week moments of all time.
The bi-annual style spectacular, which starts again today, showcases the best in British talent, reveals the upcoming clothing trends and attracts A-list celebrities to the front rows. Here are some of the most iconic moments.
The most iconic London Fashion Week moments ever
Lisa Marie Rae, Director of Entertainment EMEA at Getty Images, shared her most memorable photographs from the past 30 years with The Sun Online.
“Naomi Campbell’s fall during the Vivienne Westwood show would become one of the most memorable moments of her career,” she said.
The 47-year-old Streatham-born beauty lost her footing in a pair of platform blue heels during the 1993 presentation and ended up on her bum.
“True to form, the world-famous model managed to remain graceful and smiling, which is captured perfectly in this shot.
“The iconic nine-inch platform heels she was wearing later became part of a Vivienne Westwood exhibition and have since been displayed all over the world.”
Another shot shows Naomi puffing away on a cigarette while having her make-up done backstage at the Matthew Williamson show in September 1999.
Lisa said: “It reminds me of old-school Hollywood glamour. Surprisingly, it was taken during a fashion week that was criticised for lacking sparkle, following designers’ departures, such as Alexandra McQueen, who decided to present their collections abroad.”
Meanwhile, London Fashion Week would not be complete without the world’s most famous face, Kate Moss.
An image taken at the start of the 43-year-old Croydon muse’s career shows her and pal Naomi attending the Designer Of The Year gala in 1991.
“Another fantastic shot from the Getty Images Archive taken by Dave Benett, who has a long history as a trusted photographer shooting the top fashion brigade,” Lisa said.
“This image depicts the icons of British fashion, Kate and Naomi, at the beginning of their modelling careers. They have more in common than just being the biggest supermodels of the 1990s – the duo also shared a very close friendship.”
Over the years, the London Fashion Week catwalk has featured an array of famous faces, including Cara Delevingne, 25, Melanie Brown, 42, and Sophie Dahl, 40.
“Cara Delevingne took the first ever catwalk selfie at London Fashion Week in 2014, walking the Giles Deacon show,” commented Lisa.
“Social media has since become a bigger and bigger part of the traditionally elite catwalk, with D&G using influencers instead of models to walk the runway in Milan this year and Burberry streaming its shows across social media.”
Scary Spice stormed down the runway in 1999 at the Julien Macdonald presentation in a sheer pink dress that flashed her bra and knickers.
“Legendary photographer Dave Benett shoots the LFW FROW every year, so it’s delightful to look back at this piece of gold,” said Lisa.
“Dave took this picture at the height of the Spice Girl’s fame, from the enthusiastic cheers of the front row to the frenzy of photographers behind, Dave brilliantly captures the buzz of excitement Mel B’s walk caused.”
Someone else who caused a frenzy was porcelain-skinned stunner Sophie Dahl.
“Few models have caused such a stir as Sophie,” said Lisa.
“She was discovered at 19 by Isabella Blow, while sobbing on the street outside a Mayfair restaurant after a fight with her parents.
“Her catwalk debut was in 1997, before 'plus-size' was the buzz word it is today, walking down the runway at size 14.
“This image is particularly close to my heart, as at Getty Images we are a passionate advocate for the realistic representation of women through imagery.”
Feeling confident in front of the camera is something models need with aplomb – and no one does it better than Grace Jones, 69.
Lisa said: “Imagery has the ability to capture a mood and moment like no other medium and never more so than when starring the inimitable Grace Jones.
“Grace Jones’s flamboyancy and vibrant energy is captured brilliantly in this image, taken as she arrived at Philip Treacy’s Spring fashion show in 2000.
“Never one to shy away from the camera, Grace put on a show for the crowds by climbing on top of the car she arrived in. Dressed in an all-black ensemble, Grace let Treacy’s show stopper hat do all the work.”
As well as an array of faces from the fields of entertainment, music and fashion, London Fashion Week has also hosted royalty.
“A regular at London Fashion Week, this photo was taken of Princess Diana in March 1985, when she attended a fashion week reception at Lancaster House,” said Lisa.
“With London Fashion Week only launching a year before, the Princess’s appearance helped to establish it as the powerhouse it is today, giving it prestige.
“Throughout the 80s, the Princess’ fashion choices became bolder, and she became a great advocate for British designers, which in turn generated a lot of excitement in British fashion, especially from overseas.”
Meanwhile, enigmatic pop star Prince had the coolest of stars on their feet dancing when he held a surprise gig at Matthew Williamson show in 2007.
Lisa commented: “Originally a member of the FROW, he created a frenzy when he was joined by two models from the catwalk as he began to sing.
“It was later reported that Prince had been eager to pull off the surprise performance, with Matthew telling the press, ‘you don’t say no to Prince’.”
Keen to use her fame to highlight political issues, Vivienne Westwood walked down her own catwalk in 2013 in a “Climate Revolution” top.
“The godmother of punk, cuts an eccentric figure in her ‘Climate Revolution’ T-shirt, stripy hot pants, sequined bowler, and inked-on black eye and moustache,” said Lisa.
“Part of her Red Label show in 2013, Westwood wore the same outfit earlier that month at the Paralympics closing ceremony, where she unfurled a giant banner which proclaimed ‘Climate Revolution’.
“This marked a change in Westwood, as a born-again environmentalist, using her show brand as a vehicle to talk about climate change.”
Meanwhile, Alexander McQueen was fiercely respected for his designs, and for pushing the boundaries of fashion.
Lisa commented: "McQueen was perhaps one of the first designers to acknowledge body positivity, and chose this show in particular to cast an amputee with prosthetic legs he designed himself.
"This image is of the 1999 finale, with model Shalom Harlow having her white dress ruined with paint by robots, it was a dramatic interpretation which would have been fairly shocking to the audience at the time."
The catwalk has never shied away from controversial political commentary.
“Katherine Hammett is an icon of London Fashion Week, winning the first ever award for Designer of the Year in 1984,” said Lisa.
“Since then she has continued to use over-sized block letter slogan t-shirts to communicate political messages.
“In 2003, at LFW, Hamnett's catwalk models wore shirts with ‘STOP WAR, BLAIR OUT’, a reference to the looming invasion of Iraq.”
Meanwhile, animal charity protesters have posed outside shows in provocative outfits.
“Despite it being a cold winter’s day in February 2017, three models arrived in lingerie and crocodile masks to take part in a protest for the PETA animal welfare group,” said Lisa.
“The protest was staged outside the British Fashion Council’s hub on the Strand, and called for the end of the use of crocodile skin in fashion. A photo stunt at London Fashion Week will always draw much attention and this one didn’t disappoint.”
Other iconic images from the Getty archive, includes a gymnast at the Stella McCartney show and Fashion For Relief Haiti benefit.
“The Stella McCartney for Adidas Spring/Summer 2009 show at London Fashion Week was full of energy and movement as members of the British Olympic gymnastics team performed their routines dressed in the latest designs from the collection,” said Lisa.
“Stella capitalised on the remaining buzz of the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, and made a bold statement by showcasing the collection in action on the bodies of real athletes.”
Discussing the charity gala, Lisa added: “Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Annabelle Neilson walked for Naomi Campbell’s Fashion for Relief Haiti, at London Fashion Week in 2010.
“The two models, and McQueen's muse Annabelle, kicked off the show with a tribute to the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen, wearing blue mini-dresses from his last collection, Spring/Summer 2010.
“The catwalk was star-studded and littered with Naomi’s close friends, with David Walliams and James Corden famously puckering up for a faux-kiss. The event raised over £1 million.”
